The Philadelphia Eagles' Underdog Motivation Masks Roll On

After the Philadelphia Eagles staved off the Atlanta Falcons in the final minute of the Divisional Round playoff game, offensive tackle Lane Johnson slipped a German shepherd mask over his noggin and celebrated the win. So did defensive end Chris Long.

The Eagles won 15-10. They are the No. 1 seed in the NFC, but they were counted out and disregarded before the playoffs started.

When Eagles second-year quarterback Carson Wentz was lost for the season to an ACL injury in December, Philadelphia's chances of making noise in the playoffs turned from a roar to a whimper. At least that was the common thought; another tough-luck happenstance for a city that has never won a Super Bowl.

"Since that point, no one's given us a chance," Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said. "I understand Carson's a great player, but every week our guys are hearing the same thing. Now, all of a sudden, we're not good enough? We're 13-3, best record in football, home-field advantage throughout [the playoffs]."

When the Eagles played Atlanta it was the first time in NFL history that the top-seed was an underdog in its opening playoff game.

Johnson and Long tooled with the underdog designation. A friend of Johnson's bought the dog masks on Amazon, motivational tools and a jab at what everyone else was saying. The organization posted the picks NFL analysts made against the Eagles.

"The guys are gonna motivate themselves based on what they've heard for the last month. It really doesn't matter what you guys talk about, because [our] locker room is united," Pederson said.

Philadelphia will be at home again in the playoffs. This time against the Minnesota Vikings. The winner heads to the Super Bowl. Early betting lines have the Vikings as a three-point favorite. That won't matter to the Eagles. They're clearly confident in themselves. What it does means is that it's time to buy more masks.